semantics Semantics (from grc, σημαντικός ''sēmantikós'', "significant") is the study of reference, meaning, or truth. The term can be used to refer to subfields of several distinct disciplines, including philosophy, linguistics and compu ...

, a predicand is an

argument An argument is a statement or group of statements called premises intended to determine the degree of truth or acceptability of another statement called conclusion. Arguments can be studied from three main perspectives: the logical, the dialect ...

in an

utterance In spoken language analysis, an utterance is a continuous piece of speech, often beginning and ending with a clear pause. In the case of oral languages, it is generally, but not always, bounded by silence. Utterances do not exist in written langu ...

, specifically that of which something is predicated. By extension, in syntax, it is the

constituent Constituent or constituency may refer to: Politics * An individual voter within an electoral district, state, community, or organization * Advocacy group or constituency * Constituent assembly * Constituencies of Namibia Other meanings * Cons ...

in a

clause In language, a clause is a constituent that comprises a semantic predicand (expressed or not) and a semantic predicate. A typical clause consists of a subject and a syntactic predicate, the latter typically a verb phrase composed of a verb wi ...

typically functioning as the subject.

Examples

In the most typical cases, the predicand corresponds to the subject of a clause, and the

predicate Predicate or predication may refer to: * Predicate (grammar), in linguistics * Predication (philosophy) * several closely related uses in mathematics and formal logic: **Predicate (mathematical logic) **Propositional function **Finitary relation, ...

corresponds to a

verb phrase In linguistics, a verb phrase (VP) is a syntactic unit composed of a verb and its arguments except the subject of an independent clause or coordinate clause. Thus, in the sentence ''A fat man quickly put the money into the box'', the words ''qu ...

(VP) that is the

head A head is the part of an organism which usually includes the ears, brain, forehead, cheeks, chin, eyes, nose, and mouth, each of which aid in various sensory functions such as sight, hearing, smell, and taste. Some very simple animals may no ...

of the clause. But there are also form-meaning mismatches, where the predicand is not a subject or where the predicate is not the head of the clause. Also, not every utterance has a predicand.

When predicates correspond to the head of the clause

The typical case involves a predicand corresponding to the subject and a

corresponding to a

that is the

of the clause.

Subject predicands

Predicands are usually expressed in the utterance, and they are typically the subject. In the English example (1), the predicand is the person being spoken to, which corresponds to the subject ''you.''

Unexpressed predicands

In many languages, pronominal subjects can be dropped, but this doesn't drop a predicand. For instance, in the Spanish example (2), there is no subject, but the predicand is still the person being spoken to. If the subject is not included, the predicand can be ambiguous, as shown in the Japanese example (3). When (3) is spoken, it can be interpreted as "it's hot" where the predicand is the ambient temperature, or it can mean that an object is hot to the touch, in which case, the predicand would be the object in question. Predicands are usually unexpressed in imperative clauses, but they are usually the person or people being addressed.

Non-subject predicands

There are cases in which the predicand has a syntactic function other than subject. This happens in raising constructions, such as (4). Here, ''you'' is the object of the ''make''

, the head of the main clause. But it's also the predicand of the subordinate ''think'' clause, which has no subject. Another example is in object predicands such as (5).

Predicates other than head of the clause

Adjuncts with subject predicands

A modifier can be a predicate. Often this is a VP as in (6a), but it can also be an

adjective phrase An adjective phrase (or adjectival phrase) is a phrase whose head is an adjective. Almost any grammar or syntax textbook or dictionary of linguistics terminology defines the adjective phrase in a similar way, e.g. Kesner Bland (1996:499), Crystal ( ...

, as in (6b). In both cases the relevant modifier is underlined. : In both cases, the predicand is the speaker, which corresponds to the subject. Note that the predicand has two predicates in each case: the modifier and the head VP.

Adjuncts with unexpressed predicands

Like (2 & 3), adjunct can have unexpressed predicands. In (7), the underlined adjunct VP has no expressed predicand. The predicand in this case is the protagonist, Orlando. This kind of construction has traditionally been seen as a

dangling modifier A dangling modifier (also known as a dangling participle or illogical participle) is a type of ambiguous grammatical construct whereby a grammatical modifier could be misinterpreted as being associated with a word other than the one intended. A dan ...

, though Donaldson argues otherwise. :

Adjuncts with non-subject predicands

Similar to (4), adjuncts can take non-subject predicands. In (8), even though ''several things'' is the subject of the clause and ''John'' is the object of the preposition ''to'', the underlined adjunct VP has John as its predicand. : In cleft sentences such as ''It's you who was right'', the subject is the dummy pronoun ''it'', but the predicand is the person being addressed, which corresponds to a

complement A complement is something that completes something else. Complement may refer specifically to: The arts * Complement (music), an interval that, when added to another, spans an octave ** Aggregate complementation, the separation of pitch-clas ...

in the VP. The predicate here is the VP in the relative clause modifier ''was right''.

Verbless clauses

In verbless clauses, a predicate may be a constituent such as

prepositional phrase An adpositional phrase, in linguistics, is a syntactic category that includes ''prepositional phrases'', ''postpositional phrases'', and ''circumpositional phrases''. Adpositional phrases contain an adposition (preposition, postposition, or ci ...

. An example is shown in (9), with the predicate underlined. : Here, the predicand is the hands of the speaker, denoted by the subject of the verbless clause ''my hands in my pockets''.

Utterances without a predicand

Utterances need not have a predicand. For example, an exclamation of '' Putain!'' in French after a painful bump has no predicand.

Impersonal verb In linguistics, an impersonal verb is one that has no determinate subject. For example, in the sentence "''It rains''", ''rain'' is an impersonal verb and the pronoun ''it'' does not refer to anything. In many languages the verb takes a third pers ...

s, such as ''rain'' in English or '' havazik'' "snow" in Hungarian also seem to have no predicand at all.

Predicands and thematic roles

A predicand is typically a subject, and subjects typically have the thematic role of

agent Agent may refer to: Espionage, investigation, and law *, spies or intelligence officers * Law of agency, laws involving a person authorized to act on behalf of another ** Agent of record, a person with a contractual agreement with an insuran ...

.{{Cite book, last=Perlmutter, first=David, title=Studies in Relational Grammar 2, last2=Postal, first2=Paul, year=1984, location=Chicago, pages=81–125, chapter=The 1-advancement exclusiveness law Nevertheless, the predicand is by no means limited to this role.

References

Grammar Semantics Transitivity and valency